Category: Music
Montréal International Jazz Festival
| June 29, 2012 | Posted by naturally modern under All Posts, Events, Music, Travel |
The Montreal Jazz Festival is in full swing from June 28 through July 7. This is of of the best, if not the best, jazz festivals in the world. Legend after legend have graced this modern, jazz festival: Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Aretha Franklin, Louis Armstrong, Diana Krall, Oscar Peterson, Ron Carter, Ray Charles, Pat Metheny, Wynton Marsalis, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennet, James Brown, Dave Brubeck, BB King, Buddy Guy, Sting, Norah Jones, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, George Benson, Prince, and more!
Ranked as the world’s largest jazz festival by Guinness World Records, the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal has been synonymous with a passion for music for over three decades. Every year, North America’s French-speaking metropolis welcomes global music fans to 10 days of jazzcentric celebration, where fans of all types of jazz-related music rub shoulders with aficionados of the genre in its purest form. The Festival hosts some 30 countries, 3,000 musicians and public entertainers, 1,000 concerts and activities—two-thirds of them free – in 15 concert halls and on 8 outdoor stages, welcoming more than 2 million visitors to the city, from noon to midnight! And it all happens on a unique site designed to meet festivalgoers’ every need, in the heart of Montreal’s downtown core, in an area off-limits to car traffic! There’s no doubt – Montreal is the heartbeat of Planet Jazz!
via About – Festival International de Jazz de Montréal.
Miles Davis Kind of Blue
| May 5, 2012 | Posted by naturally modern under All Posts, Music, Naturally Modern |
If we had to choose one album that reflects what we feel is “Naturally Modern” we simply can’t choose anything other than Miles Davis, Kind of Blue.
Released in 1959, Kind of Blue it is still modern today. It is regarded as the mot loved and best selling jazz record of all time, perhaps even the best album period of all time. Kind of Blue elegantly blends simplicity, creativity, innovation, beauty, inspiration, mastery, and more. It is timeless because of the love and skill that went into creating it. It can suit your mood when you’re happy, melancholy, awake, mellow, or just in between.
One of the things we love about it most is that the lengthy solos that make up the majority of the album are improvised – the free flow of creativity after much thoughtful consideration before the music is even played. It was recorded over two impromptu sessions. Natural talent, natural flow of creativity. Brilliant!
Thank you Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb, Wynton Kelly and Bill Evans for making this slice of musical heaven. You are the soundtrack for Naturally Modern!
We can’t choose a favorite track on this album. It would be like choosing a favorite child. If you haven’t listened to this album in its entirety yet, try it. Pour a nice glass of wine, or your drink of choice, and just co-exist with it for a time. You don’t have to try hard to “listen” to it. Our favorite way to enjoy it is to enjoy it while sharing our favorite, naturally modern design ideas here with you! :)
Track List:
1. So What
2. Freddie Freeloader
3. Blue in Green
4. All Blues
5. Flamenco Sketches
6. Flamenco Sketches (Alternate Take)
Check out Kind of Blue on iTunes
